


Solare

by K9_DFTBA



Series: Solare [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Daredevil (TV), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Based on a Tumblr Post, First Meetings, Italian!Tony Stark, M/M, Meet-Cute, Tony Stark Has A Heart, and so does Matt Murdock, but more just a word, implied past Matt/Foggy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 08:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11779503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K9_DFTBA/pseuds/K9_DFTBA
Summary: When he walked in, all blond hair and mind-numbingly athletic proportions, Tony faltered. His mind slowed as he basked in the man's light like a cat in a sun beam.“Matt,” Tony hissed, "What's the word that's like, warm and glad and compassionate and...” Tony trailed off as he tracked the man's path across the cafe.“Like someone who lights up a room,” Tony finished, finally.





	Solare

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly just couldn't get this idea out of my head. This is honestly all my guilty pleasure stuff in 1.4k. Based on (THE LINK WAS BROKEN) http://saru-studies.tumblr.com/post/153574048811/today-ive-learnt-that-theres-a-word-in-italian. <\---- that.

When Tony Stark left, he didn’t leave for MIT, as he was expected to, he didn’t leave for knowledge or learning. No, he could have found those anywhere. Instead, he left to find something he had never had-- a home. When Tony Stark left, he didn’t leave to fulfill his legacy as Howard Stark’s heir, but rather to find his place as Maria Stark’s son. When Tony Stark left, he left for Italy.

 

And he stayed.

 

He stayed until he could walk the streets on which his mother had grown blindfolded, until their twists and turns were mapped on his heart. He stayed until he couldn’t sleep without the ambience of the town around him, until it played in his mind on repeat. He stayed until it felt like he had never known anything else.

 

Usually, when people leave, they leave home. But Tony Stark had to first find a home to leave.

 

So, he found one. He found a life, and a family.

 

Maria’s family welcomed him with open arms, as if they had been waiting for him-- the prodigal son in its truest form. He joked with his uncles, grew close to his cousins, and helped raise his nieces and nephews. He gave speeches at weddings and pledges at baptisms.

 

And when Tony finally had a home to leave, he did just that. Because that’s what people do, they leave the nest, they strike out on their own. Tony just had to have something to leave behind, first.

 

When Tony returned to the U.S., it was to find that his first language sat wrong on his tongue, because it wasn’t _his_ language anymore. He hadn’t spoken English since he first stepped foot in Italy, and switching back was like rewiring his own brain. But Tony was always good with wires.

 

When Tony returned, if was to find that the ground underfoot was unfamiliar. He felt like a sailor at sea, longing for the land. But Tony was always good at fixing things, so he built himself somewhere that did feel familiar.

 

He sat himself down in New York, a little outside the city, and there he built his own home. He found a lawyer-- a nice, catholic man he thought his _Nonna_ would approve of-- and together they secured his portion of the Stark fortune. The lawyer, Matt Murdock, could have ended his involvement there.

 

But, he didn't. Instead, he help Tony build his home, and built one for himself along the way.

 

Matt had found himself in a situation much like Tony’s pre-Italy-- that is, with a place of residence, but without a home. He had fallen out with his, well, best friend wasn't enough… with his _life_. His world had turned dangerous quickly, but helping Tony find stability helped him find it too.

 

Together, they built a cafe that was so much more than. With infinite funds and two big hearts, a beautiful place was made.

 

Tony flew around the kitchen and coffee bar, breathing new life into recipes known only by his family. Matt told Tony what was working, and what wasn't; he could read people extraordinarily well.

 

Tony and Matt picked up a few more strays along the way, too.

 

Peter came to work for them when his old boss’s harassment became too much. With Peter came the regular costumer Wade, an odd man who kept his face covered but had a kind laugh.

 

Later came Bucky, a recovering veteran with a guarded countenance but soft attitude. With Bucky came _him_.

 

Tony was very good about knowing his audience. He never used Italian around Americans, and vise versa. Despite leading a life in a foreign country for several years, he rarely slipped up or even spoke with an accent.

 

And yet, when _he_ walked in, all blond hair and mind-numbingly athletic proportions, Tony faltered. His mind slowed as he basked in the man's light like a cat in a sun beam.   

 

“Matt,” Tony hissed from his spot at the register, trying to get his partner’s attention.

 

Matt turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

 

“What's,” Tony said, then paused, taking a deep breath as if preparing for a speech, “the word that's like,” he continued, gesturing, “warm and glad and compassionate?”

 

“Amiable? Warm-hearted?” Matt offered, largely unconcerned, but slightly placating.

 

Matt turned back around to continue wiping down the bar as Tony continued talking.

 

“No, no, no, like a noun. It means like…” Tony trailed off as he tracked the man's path across the cafe.

 

He was now sitting with Bucky, who had come in on his off day for good food and a calm atmosphere. They were having a lively, friendly conversation. It filled up the space and warmed it even further.

 

“Like someone who lights up a room,” Tony finished, finally.

 

Matt turned to look at Tony curiously, raising an eyebrow to ask for the explanation he likely needed.

 

Tony huffed a small, self-deprecating laugh.

 

“The guy sitting with Barnes is hot as hell,” Tony said, by way of explanation.

 

“I gathered,” Matt replied, with a teasing tone and a smirk, before shrugging, and saying, “is the word Italian? Do you think it's a lexical gap in English?”

 

“I… uh…” Tony said as he struggled to remember.

 

Then, he began to really struggle, as the man got up and approached the counter, and Tony’s mind halted.

 

Tony was able to take his order on auto pilot, and then as the man was walking away…

 

“The name for the order is Steve, by the way,” the man, _Steve_ , called over his shoulder.

 

As Tony picked up the cup and a sharpie to write on it with, something clicked in his mind. His head shot up, but his hand was still moving to write Steve’s name on the cup.

 

“ _Solare_!” Tony exclaimed to Matt, “He's like, the dictionary definition!” Tony continued, as he set the sharpie down and began to fix the drink with one hand, gesturing with the other.

 

“I'm sure,” Matt said, dryly, but not unkindly, just teasingly.

 

Tony huffed.

 

“Just bring him his drink, you asshole.”

 

He left off the, ‘ _he's so beautiful that I'm flustered and I would spill it,’_ but Matt knew anyway.

 

Matt grumbled something about making the blind guy transverse the environment, but he wore an expression that meant he was joking. His smile was wicked, but his glasses were off and his eyes were soft-- really, he was happy that Tony was carefree enough to fawn over a beautiful stranger.

 

Tony noticed Matt stayed at the table for longer than needed to deliver a drink. He carefully did not wonder what that was about.

 

“What was that about?” Tony questioned, as soon as Matt returned.

 

Matt’s only answer was silence, as if he hadn't heard the question. Tony didn't repeat himself; he knew Matt, and he knew he wouldn't be able to force an answer.

 

Nearly 15 minutes later, Steve approached the counter again.

 

“Sunny-natured. From the Latin meaning to appease or assuage. Warm and kind; someone who brightens a room,” Steve listed, reading off of his phone screen.

 

Tony froze, staring. He realized with a shock that instead of writing Steve on the cup he had written  _solare._

 

Steve finally looked up.

 

_Damn, those eyes._

 

“Good to know there's a word that describes you so perfectly, doll,” Steve finished, with a coy smile.

 

Tony could physically feel Matt’s approval.

 

“When did you get so smooth, Stevie?” Bucky asked from slightly behind Steve, only to be met with a glare.

 

“I didn't mean to write it,” Tony began to backpedal, “You just reminded me-”

 

_Damn._

 

Steve smirked.

 

“I just couldn't remember…” he rambled.

 

Steve’s eyes were soft. He looked almost… endeared?

 

“I was definitely thinking of you when I wrote it,” Tony admitted, finally.

 

“Does that mean I can get your number?” Steve inquired earnestly.

 

In answer, Tony grabbed a clean napkin and a sharpie and scribbled down his number, and then passed it over.

 

“I expect you to actually use it,” Tony said as the napkin changed hands.

 

“Wouldn't have it any other way, beautiful,” Steve said, before turning to leave.

 

As he reached the door, he lingered, and gave him a sweet wave goodbye, before Bucky shoved him playfully out the door. Through the windows, Tony watched as Bucky patted Steve on the back, a brotherly congratulations.

 

Caught in the setting sunlight, suspended in the brightness, Steve's response was to look back through the window, right at Tony. Their eyes met, and the warmth that Steve had brought with him was suddenly just his, just Tony’s. And it was beautiful.

 

Because that moment, framed by the setting sun, in a handmade home, surrounded by their closest friends, was it's own _solare_. It was a light, and a hope for the future-- a promise for the future.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I'd be open to doing some more tiny things in this universe, maybe some Matt/Foggy or Peter/Wade, or even some father son relationship stuff with Peter & Tony. Or maybe Team Red? Anything, really. All fluff, of course.  
> xoxoxo,  
> ~K


End file.
